IRISH HOLLOW

The prospect of moving to another home can be a stressful enough experience for many individuals. Those planning to move into a smaller house than the one they have currently been living in can be particularly challenging. Years of accumulated household items can rattle anyone’s emotions when considering how to pare down or downsize your belongings before moving into a more modest sized house. This dilemma is common for older couples wanting a smaller home after raising their families. There are some simple and practical strategies from this Roseville moving company to get everything ready for the upcoming move date.

Begin Your Moving Preparations as Early as Possible

The stress of move preparations set in when the moving individuals realize how much they have to accomplish in a short period. Many underestimate how long this paring down process can be. When individuals have a practical plan of action, they are far less stressed and better prepared.

Schedule practical cleaning/organizing times

Get every household member involved

Sort items for keep, trash, sell or donate

Plan and hold a yard sale

Sell large items like furniture through newspaper ads if necessary.

Give Away Good Condition Items

Consider giving away some sentimental items that are taking up a lot of storage space. Give family heirlooms, old baby clothes and supplies, cherished Christmas decorations and other important items to grown children or others that would want these items.

Remember that common household items like dishes, good smaller kitchen appliances, and clothing are all needed and can be donated to local women’s shelters and other worthy community organizations.

Keep Belongings in a Wait Spot

Most people dislike throwing out or getting rid of items that they have paid good money for. This can cause a problem when trying to pare down household items into a smaller amount. Rather than stress over the decision right away, place these items in a safe spot to wait for a while. For example:

Put too large or small, or unworn clothing away for several months

Go through again when the time is up to see if your decision has changed

Do the same with toys kids haven’t played with, books already read and so on

Enlist the Help of a Friend or Family Member During Final Pare Down

Sometimes, just having someone there to bounce ideas off can make this job go easier. Try to enlist someone who is a good organizer and knows your tastes and habits.

Begin Packing Items Not Needed Well Before Move Date

Start packing those items you will be keeping but don’t need currently well in advance of the move date. This service for moving in Sacramento, CA, suggests labeling each box and which room it belongs in.

Last Minute Details

Give yourself enough time to clean up everything. With proper preparation plans, your move can be smooth, peaceful and less stressful.

Whether it’s due to advanced age or the easing of financial burdens, downsizing into a smaller home can be a blessing in many ways. If it’s your parents’ time to move into a smaller home that’s perfect for the two of them, some important decisions must be made regarding their possessions. Here are some of the most common household items that movers in Las Vegas suggest discarding when moving your elderly parents into a smaller home.

Clutter

Everyone’s parents are guilty of accumulating varying amounts of clutter in their home throughout the years. When you begin to survey your parents’ current home for items to discard or move into storage, the copious amounts of clutter should be the first to go, especially if they are cross country moving. This type of clutter includes newspapers, magazines, old toys, broken furniture, plastic bags, old or broken decorations, shoes with no pairs, and other items that your parents might not have gotten around to throwing away yet.

Excess Furniture

Whether your parents enjoyed hosting family gatherings, offered their home to out-of-town guests, or simply enjoyed having a home full of furniture, there will need to be a purging of chairs, tables, beds, and dressers when your parents decide to downsize. Begin this arduous process by discussing with them which furniture pieces they’d like to keep. This will usually include a bedroom set, a living room set, and pieces of furniture that have sentimental value to them. Once the essential furniture has been chosen, you have a myriad of options regarding the leftover furniture. It can be donated to a local organization, given to a family in need, sold online, or even transferred to a storage unit for safe keeping.

Clothing Purge

When downsizing to a smaller home, it’s reasonable to expect the amount of closet space to be smaller as well. If your parents happen to possess a rather girthy wardrobe, a clothing purge will most likely be in order. Purging a personal wardrobe can be a rather time-consuming task, so bring all hands on deck if need be. You can make the clothing purge more efficient by separating the clothes into sections and going through them one section at a time. Be sure to keep any clothes that might have sentimental value to your parents and always check with them before putting clothes into the discard pile.

Dinnerware and Cutlery

Over the years, your parents have probably amassed a rather large collection of mismatched dinnerware and orphaned pieces of cutlery. With your parents downsizing to a smaller home, it’s going to mean less room for dinner parties, guests, and gatherings. This also means they’ll need fewer pieces of dinnerware and cutlery.

Discuss with your parents which sets of plates and glasses they would like to keep. With it being only the two of them living in the house, keeping a set that serves up to four people should suffice. The extra dinnerware and cutlery can be donated to local organizations, sold, or handed out to members of the family. Give your parents the final say in which pieces stay and go so that they can keep any plates or glasses that are special to them.

Moving to an assisted living facility isn’t just a lot like moving to a new home, it IS moving to a new home. However, it may be a smaller one. With that in mind, it’s time to figure out what to bring with you.

Furniture

Before moving in, ask to see the room you’ll be in (or one like it). While some facilities have two- or three-bedroom apartments, most assisted living rooms are about the size of a one-bedroom apartment with a bathroom, bedroom, and combined living room/dining room/kitchen area. The furniture you bring must be able to fit without hampering your ability to get around. Tops on your list should be:

Bed (twin or full usually)

Small sofa/loveseat and a sitting chair or two

Dresser or nightstand

Small table or TV trays

TV (note that you may need to pay for cable or satellite)

Other furniture-type items you may want to consider including a microwave (if one isn’t provided), a bookcase or similar item for books or mementos, radio/stereo, and telephone (or cell phone). If you have and use a computer or tablet, bring it as well (you may need to pay for Internet service).

Personal Items

This apartment or room is going to be your space, so make it yours. Keep in mind your space requirements, however, and only bring those things that fit, have meaning to you, and that you will use. In your list of personal items, be sure to include:

Find a Reputable Mover

Whether you’re planning the move yourself or helping a loved one with their transition, you might want to enlist the help of a professional moving service that specializes in senior moves. These companies can help with packing and organizing for your move, donating items you’ll no longer need, and arranging your new home just how you’d like it. Check out the Southwest Movers Association to find a list of licensed movers in the DFW area.

Moving Home, Not Away

Remember that you are moving to a new home filled with new friends and new opportunities. Your room or apartment will be where you spend a lot of time, so be sure you’re comfortable there. This move is a great opportunity for you to downsize to those things that matter to you. As the saying goes, home is where the heart is, so take yours with you.